Hitman with a Badass System

A couple of guardians stood around a wooden table, covering their faces with cloth masks. To Evan's surprise, he saw a shriveled body that looked like it had been in the ground for at least fifty or so years. Surprisingly, the body didn't reek. Evan slowly stepped toward the body.

"It's the vampires, Evan," said Victoria. She unsheathed her sword and moved the dead body's head to the side. She pointed her sword at the neck as Evan saw a bite mark on the neck. Despite the shriveled mummified body, the bite was distinguishable.

"How many bodies?" asked Evan with a deep frown.

"Twelve. We sent the rest to the guild for further examination. But it's definitely the work of vampires. Witnesses claimed they saw suspicious blacked robes figures in the woods a few hours before the attack," said Victoria.

"Do you think it's a pre planned attack?" asked Evan as Victoria nodded.

"I hate to be Princess Victoria now. If Ghost wasn't enough, they now have a vampire problem," Victoria sighed.

"Have you tried to clear the rubbles blocking the entrance to the mine?"

"We tried to use some spells but no use. I am afraid we might collapse the entire mine if we continue to do so. I don't think it's smart to clear the mine without King Maxim's or Princess Victoria's permission," said Victoria. Evan's gaze swept across the tent as the fellow guardians seemed to agree with Victoria.

*************************************

Sometime later, Xanali finally reached the outskirts of Thusia's capital. The snowfall took a turn for the worse and threatened the kingdom with a violent blizzard. The howling wind and the thunder rumbling created an ominous feeling.

Xanali stood atop her ship, looking at the golden energy dome around the entire capital. Countless chakras and runes glowed within the dome.

The Thusian soldiers constantly patrolled the air inside and outside the dome while armored soldiers guarded the ground inside. The dome covered the noble district adjacent to the castle and left the commoner house unguarded. The streets and houses seemed empty to Xanali.

As the guardian ships were getting closer to the capital, a group of crimson-robed mages flew straight toward Xanali's ship.

"Halt!" Xanali raised her hand as the ships came to a halt. She waited for the mages to approach her.

"The capital is close for everyone," the mage who led the group said in a thick voice. He was an old man in his late seventies. With a long white beard, a pointy hat, and a staff in his hands made him look like a wizard out of a storybook. Despite his look, the old man's eyes glimmered with power.

"We are here to help you evacuate the citizens to safety," said Xanali.

"No need, Her royal highness has already taken care of that. Now, if the guardians have nothing more, please leave the kingdom," Xanali didn't like the mage's attitude, not even for a bit. However, she controlled her emotions.

"I want to meet your princess or Edith. Tell them Xanali is here to see them,"

"Miss Edith has yet to return from Valeria," said the mage. Xanali was surprised to hear his answer. The mage and the men behind him looked clueless about what had happened in Valeria.

"How long have you been inside the dome?" asked Xanali.

"Two days," the mage answered with an annoyed look on his face. His tone was so unwelcoming.

"I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news. The Duchy of Valeria is no more. It's destroyed by Ghost," the mage was stunned.

"Please tell Princess Victoria to come and receive the body of her mother, Queen Valeria,"

The mages trembled. For a few moments, no one uttered a word. Silence fell over them. Xanali hated to break the news about Queen Valeria's death to them. To be honest, she thought Edith would be the one to reveal the news. However, it seemed like Edith didn't come to the capital. The last time Xanali saw Edith, she was leaving Valeria with Lailah Alden. She thought Lailah and Edith were heading for the capital.

"If they didn't come here, where did they go?" Xanali questioned herself.

"I don't believe you. Her Highness was with General Booth," The mage stuttered. It was obvious that Xanali Victoria had put the capital under lockdown. Since Booth or anyone made it back to the capital, they were oblivious to everything that had happened in Valeria. Still, Xanali couldn't believe a powerful kingdom like this had been reduced to such a sorry state.

"He's dead. Ghost killed them both," said Xanali.

"And he's probably on his way here, so why don't you go back inside and tell the princess? Let her receive her mother's body, for god sake," Xanali's voice turned colder.

"Guardians!" Xanali raised her voice as a couple of guardians came running to her.

"Bring Queen Valeria and General Booth's bodies,"

The mages were in a kind of shocked state. They waited for the guardians to bring the bodies covered in white cloth in silence. Seeing the bodies, the old mage descended from the sky, landing on the ship. He squatted beside the bodies. The old mage swallowed. Sweat drops broke out on his face. Xanali even noticed the mage's hands shivering. Slowly, he lifted off the cloth. For a brief moment, the mage couldn't recognize the body. But eventually, he saw the gold necklace on Valeria's body. He closed his eyes as a golden chakra appeared on the mage's hand. The small chakra floated toward Valeria's body before shining its light on the pendant. His heart skipped a beat when the pendant on her necklace radiated an icy blue light.

"Your highness," the old man lost control of his body as he collapsed down. The staff slipped out of his hand while tears rolled down his eyes. Soon the rest of the mages joined the old man. They all had the same reaction when they saw the icy blue light from the pendant.

They were saddened beyond words. Every single one in Thusia adored and loved Queen Valeria. She was the kindest soul they had ever known. Seeing her mutilated body, their hearts couldn't take it. They broke into tears. Xanali felt sorry for the mages.

The old mage finally managed to stop sobbing. He slowly moved his hand toward the body next to Queen Valeria. His hands trembled as he lifted off the cloth. The old man showed no expression as he couldn't recognize the body instantly. It took the mages a few seconds to locate a tattoo of the kingdom's emblem on the bloody chest.

As expected, the mages didn't shed tears for Booth as they did for Valeria.

"Please, you have to let Princess know about this," said Xanali.

**************************************

Meanwhile, Gaya and Azazel arrived at the castle of vampires with the help of Michael's runic teleportation. The place looked as ominous as ever before. The gray castle stood under the red sky. Countless black bats flew around the castle to add an extra layer of creepiness to it.

Gaya cracked her neck. She was in her Dark Queen armor so that no one could see her face. But behind the mask, she was grinning. Why? Because Michael had specially built something for her to deal with the Blood Prince herself.  She really insisted on Michael killing the blood prince with her own hands. Since Michael was busy with something else, he built a device and sent Gaya to the castle along with Azazel for backup. He didn't think Gaya needed backup, but he didn't like letting Gaya go alone.

As though the vampires had sensed their presence, a group of blacked clothes vampires rushed toward her.

"Magnificent creatures," Azazel exclaimed. The vampires had long black hair, fangs protruding out of their mouths, and pale faces. Their speed was beyond any average cultivator. They moved like the wind. Gaya didn't even move a finger. She waited for the vampires to get close with her hands folded.

"Stop," suddenly, Saber's voice echoed through the desolate, barren grounds. The vampires immediately halted their steps. Gaya looked up at the sky to see Saber slowly descending down. Unlike the rest of the vampires, Saber did not cover his face with a dark hood. In fact, Saber's face glowed with delight.

"Dark Queen," Saber dropped to his one knee.

"How is your life free of any weakness?" asked Gaya.

"It's a gift I won't forget forever, Dark Queen," Saber bowed. He had been trying to find a cure for the vampires' weakness for sunlight for ages. He lost count of how many people he had killed, how many ruins he ventured into, and how many scrolls he had collected throughout the years. He literally put his blood and sweat into finding a cure. Yet, the Dark Lord offered him the solution in the form of a potion in exchange for his loyalty. Saber had no problem bending his knee before a god who could change the fate of his entire race in a few minutes. Of course, the Dark Lord's promise to make him the leader of the entire vampire clan played a big part in Saber's decision to serve the Dark Lord.

"Rise," Gaya gestured at Saber to stand up. Saber glanced at the man behind the Dark Queen with devilish wings and crimson red eyes. Although he seemed calm, Saber sensed an overwhelming power from the man. Saber didn't think he could win against this man in a direct battle. The Dark Lord's power truly freaked out Saber. He felt agreeing to serve the Dark Lord was the best decision he had made in his life. He just hoped Trista would follow his steps instead of opposing the Dark Lord. On the contrary, he didn't even think about Ingram serving the Dark Lord. Unlike Trista and him, Ingram was an old-school vampire. He would rather die than serve the Dark Lord.

"This is Azazel. Azazel, this is Saber," Gaya introduced them to each other before walking toward the castle entrance. The vampires looked totally confused. They had never seen their master bend his knee before anyone. However, they were too afraid to question Saber. Hence, they just followed their master, the woman in black armor and the man with wings.

Gaya climbed the stairs like a queen, guarded by vampires. Saber himself opened the steel door, letting her in. The vampires who saw the sudden appearance of Saber with Gaya and Azazel were caught off guard. They looked confused, just like the vampires behind Saber.

She followed Saber with her hands behind her back. On her way, she looked around the dimly lit castle.

"This place could use a bit of touch-up and a lot of chandeliers," commented Gaya.

Some of Trista's vampires slipped into the darkness to inform their mistress. Saber noticed that yet did nothing to stop them.

Since Gaya was in no hurry to meet the Blood Prince, she took her sweet time exploring the castle. She often stopped to look at the portraits, rooms and even made some comments about how a vampire should really dress.

Eventually, Gaya reached the meeting hall with the big round-stone table in the center. The last time she came here, the Blood Prince almost killed Michael with a single punch. At that moment, the seats were empty. Instead of waiting for the elder vampires to arrive, Gaya climbed on the table and sat with one leg atop another.

"I'd be really disappointed if the blood prince isn't here," said Gaya.